Punjabi Short Story Competition: ਪੰਜਾਬੀ ਕਹਾਣੀ ਮੁਕਾਬਲਾ
Quick answer: Punjabi short story competition entries are open at Writory from September 2026: an original ਕਹਾਣੀ of 100 to 6,000 words in Gurmukhi or Shahmukhi, entered online for ₹199 from India, with writers abroad paying in dollars. Stories are read in Punjabi and judged blind against a published five-part rubric; every entrant receives a certificate and a score out of 100.
Write the ਕਹਾਣੀ in Punjabi, in Gurmukhi or Shahmukhi, and enter it online from Punjab, Brampton, Southall or anywhere else. Every story is read in Punjabi against the published rubric, entries close on 30 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, and every entrant receives a certificate and a score out of 100.
A ਕਹਾਣੀ read in Punjabi, in either script
The Punjabi short story has never lacked masters. Nanak Singh and Sant Singh Sekhon shaped its first generation, Kulwant Singh Virk and Kartar Singh Duggal gave it the village and the Partition, Ajeet Cour brought it into the city, and Gurdial Singh took the Jnanpith in 1999, seventeen years after Amrita Pritam became the first Punjabi writer to hold it. Preet Lari has been printing Punjabi fiction since 1933. Here the story stays in Punjabi: read in Punjabi by readers who know Majhi from Malwai and Doabi, and scored on the same published rubric as every other entry.
Both scripts are accepted. A writer in Ludhiana or Brampton will most likely type in Gurmukhi; a writer in Lahore or Faisalabad in Shahmukhi. The same story is the same story in either, and the marking does not change. The rubric has five parts: Storytelling & Structure 25, Character & Emotional Impact 25, Language & Craft 20, Originality & Voice 20, Impact & Resonance 10. Judging is blind, so names, cities and earlier entries are removed before reading. There is no Punjabi category or prize; every story, in every language, sits in one pool and one scored list.
One deadline, from Amritsar to Surrey
Entries close on 30 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST. For writers in Punjab, Chandigarh, Delhi or Haryana that is the clock on the wall, so there is nothing to convert; 11:59 at night means 11:59 at night. Results and certificates follow on 5 December 2026, published on a dated page anyone can open. The first contest runs from 1 September 2026 to 30 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, with results and certificates on 5 December 2026 at 8:00 PM IST. Story rounds run every three months, closing on the last day of February, May, August and November. Results follow on the 5th of the next month. The next round opens on the 1st, before the previous round's results.
Punjabi is a diaspora language as much as a Punjab one, and the sums are short. Entries close on 30 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST. Local deadline: Toronto: 30 November 2026 at 13:29 GMT-5; Vancouver: 30 November 2026 at 11:29 GMT-7; Southall: 30 November 2026 at 18:29 GMT; Lahore: 30 November 2026 at 23:29 GMT+5. Results and certificates follow on 5 December 2026. The first contest runs from 1 September 2026 to 30 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, with results and certificates on 5 December 2026 at 8:00 PM IST. Story rounds run every three months, closing on the last day of February, May, August and November. Results follow on the 5th of the next month. The next round opens on the 1st, before the previous round's results.
Entering and paying, from India or abroad
The story goes in at /submit-story, typed or pasted in Unicode Gurmukhi or Shahmukhi. Text set in an older AnmolLipi or Satluj font has to be converted to Unicode first, or the letters arrive broken. Stories run from 100 to 6,000 words in any genre, the writer must be 13 or older, and the work must be original and yours. From India, entry is ₹199 for one story, ₹349 for two and ₹699 for five, paid in rupees by UPI, card or netbanking.
Writers outside India pay in dollars, by card or PayPal, and the card does the conversion to Canadian dollars, pounds or Australian dollars. The top prize for a winner in India is ₹5,000; a winner abroad is paid in dollars. Every winner enters the next round free. Eligible Seasoned Quill writers can also receive a free single-entry reward; available rewards appear at checkout. Whatever the placing, every entrant receives a certificate with a verification link and the full five-part score. You keep every right to the story and may publish it anywhere afterwards, in Preet Lari or a Brampton weekly alike.
Before you send the ਕਹਾਣੀ
Writory Academy's Story Craft course at /academy/story-craft is in English and requires a module or full-course unlock; its lessons on scene, cause and ending apply to a Punjabi story without alteration. Read the rubric once, then read your own story asking the five questions the judges will ask. Optional written feedback on an entry is available, and for a Punjabi story it is written in Punjabi, in the script you submitted, so the notes are about your sentences rather than a translation of them.
The first Story results are scheduled for 5 December 2026; Story winners have not yet been announced. A ਕਹਾਣੀ that a college magazine in Patiala returned, or a Punjabi weekly in Surrey never printed, will be read here in full and scored in writing.
The published rubric, 100 points
- Storytelling & Structure (25 points): Does every scene cause the next, and does the ending pay off the opening?
- Character & Emotional Impact (25 points): Do we want something with your character, and does the story make us feel it?
- Language & Craft (20 points): Clean, deliberate prose: rhythm, precision, and nothing wasted.
- Originality & Voice (20 points): The angle only you could write, told in a voice that sounds like nobody else.
- Impact & Resonance (10 points): What the story leaves behind after the last line.
How it works
Submit an original story of 100 to 6,000 words by 30 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST. Every story is judged blind against the rubric above, and results arrive on 5 December 2026: every entrant receives a certificate with their name and a score out of 100. Writers keep all rights. Winners earn free entry to the next round. Enter at https://writoryofficial.com/submit-story.
Common questions
Can I write in Gurmukhi or Shahmukhi?
Either. Type or paste the story in Unicode Gurmukhi or Unicode Shahmukhi at /submit-story; both are read as Punjabi and scored on the same published rubric. Romanised Punjabi is accepted too, though a story in its own script reads as it was written.
What does entry cost from India, and from abroad?
From India, ₹199 for one story, ₹349 for two, ₹699 for five, paid in rupees by UPI, card or netbanking. Writers in Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia or anywhere else outside India pay in dollars by card or PayPal, and the card converts the charge. Winners enter the next round free.
Do I get a certificate if I do not place?
Every entrant does. It carries your name, the contest round and a verification link on writoryofficial.com, and it arrives with your five-part score out of 100 on 5 December 2026. Students file it with college applications; working writers quote the score, because a number says more than the word participated.
Is there a separate prize for the best Punjabi story?
No. Every story, in every language, competes in one pool for the same top prize, ₹5,000 for a winner in India and a dollar prize for a winner abroad. A Punjabi ਕਹਾਣੀ is read in Punjabi and marked on the same rubric as every other entry, in the same field.
Can I write in Malwai, Doabi, Pothohari or a Punjabi-English mix?
Yes. Majhi, Malwai, Doabi, Pothohari or the everyday Brampton mixture of Punjabi and English are all legitimate choices for fiction. Language & Craft asks whether the choice is deliberate and consistently handled, not whether it matches a textbook or a radio bulletin.
When do results come out?
On 5 December 2026 for the current round, on a dated public page, with certificates and scores delivered the same day. The first contest runs from 1 September 2026 to 30 November 2026 at 11:59 PM IST, with results and certificates on 5 December 2026 at 8:00 PM IST. Story rounds run every three months, closing on the last day of February, May, August and November. Results follow on the 5th of the next month. The next round opens on the 1st, before the previous round's results.
More story contest pages
About Writory
Writory (writoryofficial.com) is an international monthly poetry contest founded in 2025 by Shivay Mehra. Poets from 40 countries have entered, readers come from more than 150 countries, and every submitted poem is judged and scored out of 100 across five criteria: creativity, emotion, structure, language and impact and resonance. Every entrant receives a certificate; winners receive cash prizes and are published by name. Entries close on the 25th of each month and results are announced on the 30th. Writory is listed by Duotrope, Poetry Kit, Christopher Fielden's competition list and Creative Writing NZ, among other organisations. Past results are public at past winners and the leaderboard.